


Greetings from the Grave

by MagdaTheMagpie



Series: Hermione's Hideaway [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Dark Magic, Deal With It, Dimension Travel, F/M, Haunting, Hermione is a Damsel in Distress, Time Anomalies, Wizarding negligence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2019-10-30 09:24:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17826119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagdaTheMagpie/pseuds/MagdaTheMagpie
Summary: Strange events take place in the infamous graveyard where Voldemort resurrected. Of course it's up to Hermione to sort out that mess after 19 years of negligence.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Curse my luck, the dice rolled: Cedric Diggory + 19 years later...
> 
> But you know what? I'm glad they did, or I never would have come up with this. And I might actually continue it, having never played around with the Twilight fandom before!

 

 

No one had returned to the graveyard that had seen Voldemort reborn, not since a hasty cleanup of the desolate place by a team of aurors. That, in retrospect, had been a mistake. After the liberal amount of dark magic that had flooded the quaint little muggle graveyard; potions, blood and forbidden rituals and residual curses soaking the earth, unforeseen incidents were bound to happen.

It started a couple of years after the war with that terribly tacky statue of Death cosplaying as the reaper who wandered off down to the local pub for a pint. Thankfully, by then, more muggleborns were working in the Ministry and the cover up had been easy. No obliviations necessary. 

“They're just shooting a movie. Yeah, mad makeup skills! Couldn't agree more, mate. Here, have another pint. It's on the house!”

To be fair, everyone thought it had been a prank, muggle-baiting at worse. In bad taste, sure, but pretty harmless in the end, so no inquiry had been opened. 

The next incidents had been blamed solely on muggles. It was only fires and strange lights after all. The muggles blamed aliens all on their own and the Ministry of Magic was fine with that and ignored the subsequent reports. They were piling up somewhere in between the muggle-liaison office and the MLE department, year after year, gathering dust, towering higher and higher until one day, nineteen years after the end of the war, Unspeakable Hermione Granger stumbled on her way out from Harry's office, bumped into the dusty files and was buried under. Harry laughed, the ungrateful berk, so Hermione conjured bluebell-flame-birds to harass him for the rest of the day in retaliation. 

“What the hell is all this?” she muttered as she started gathering the files. 

She had intended to simply file them back where they belonged, but she became increasingly worried as she read the contents, and shrunk the lot to fit in her pocket so she could peruse everything down in her office. 

 

One week later, Hermione was standing on the path leading to the graveyard Harry had told her about once, what seemed like a lifetime ago. It was a lifetime ago, she supposed, almost twenty years, and most everyone she knew had settled down with job and family. She sighed. She had her career at least, which is exactly why she was here. 

Something was wrong with this graveyard. They should have sent an Unspeakable ages ago, and she had been flabbergasted when she discovered everyone had just swept these incidents under the carpet instead. 

“Irresponsible fools,” she muttered, trudging on with her wand held out. 

Everything was quiet, mist clinging on to the branches of the trees lining the path and swirling around the headstones when she approached the graveyard. The site was old, falling to pieces as nature reclaimed its rights, but it was beautiful in a way. 

She found the place Voldemort's resurrection ritual had taken place easily enough. The place reeked of dark magic, but it was concentrated in one perfect circular patch of darkened earth. As round as a cauldron, she supposed. Hermione tried everything she could think of to understand this anomaly, but had to give up after several hours of complete and utter failure. 

She resolved to wait instead. With the amount of sightings that had been reported from here, something was bound to happen sooner or later. She conjured a sofa and took out a book in the meanwhile, glancing around every now and then, until she noticed mist gathering in an unnatural way over the anomaly. It took on the shape of a snowman, but seemed unable to hold its form. Hermione rolled her eyes. If she had come all the way out here because of a bothersome poltergeist stuck in between, she was going to exorcise the ectoplasm out of it. Poking her wand at the amassed mist, she infused it with a burst of magic, then looked on with mild annoyance as the shape did become more and more human. 

“Finally,” it muttered back. 

Hermione recoiled, because despite the years, she knew that voice, she knew that face… 

“Cedric?” she squeaked. 

“Ah. Hermione. Should have known it would be you. Although I have to admit I am a bit disappointed in Harry.” Cedric glanced around. “He's not here?” 

Hermione shook her head. This… thing, whatever he really was, didn't make any sense. He looked like Cedric Diggory, a little older maybe, had his voice, but talked with a sardonic edge to it that hadn't been there before. She took a step back, passing through her mind everything she had read about demons and possessions. 

“Wait!” Maybe-Cedric pleaded. “Don't go. I've been trying to get into contact with someone here for so long.” 

Trying to appeal to her curiosity and desire to help, as any smart demon would. She took another step back when the creature’s hand shot out to stop her and suddenly, it was as if the world flipped upside down, like a pancake, and she landed on her arse in a very sunny but familiar graveyard. She glanced down at her arm where a very solid hand still held on, bruising her skin. Cedric let go, a horrified expression on his stupidly perfect face, babbling a string of apologies she couldn't make head nor tails of. 

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, used as she was to deal with idiots. 

“What have you done?” she huffed. 

“Pulled you back with me?” 

“And where is this?” 

“It's like home, only it's not?” 

“And I suppose there isn't a way back?” 

“Well…” 

“Other than haunting an old graveyard.” 

Cedric shook his head. 

“Not that I know of. But maybe you can find a way?” 

Hermione snorted. 

“I'm smart, I'm not a miracle-dispenser.” She sighed. “Fine. I'll try. Not like I have a choice anyway. But can you tell me something?”

Cedric nodded eagerly, probably relieved she wasn't hexing his arse sideways. 

“Why the hell are you sparkling?” 

Cedric grinned in answer, his teeth a bit too sharp, his canines a bit too pointy. 

“Oh, bugger,” she muttered, cursing her luck.

 


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re not a giant fairy, so… What are you?” Hermione asked, voice and eyes full of suspicion as she kept her wand aloft between them. 

“I won't hurt you,” Cedric said, hands raised in surrender. 

But those hands sparkled like mad as they caught a ray of sun through the trees branches. It was as if he was made entirely of diamonds, except his eyes which glowed liked ambers. He was even more beautiful than he used to be, but it was an unnatural beauty that made her feel uneasy, as if he was too good to be true. 

“Is it Voldemort's ritual that… changed you?”

“No. Not the way you think. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what happened that night in the graveyard. It was so sudden, but I died… Right?”

Hermione nodded. 

“Harry never forgave himself. He brought your body back to your parents, like you asked-” 

“My parents… That's why I was trying to reach through the portal. I wanted them to know I'm well, and not to worry for me.”

She couldn't help the way she tensed, or the twist of her lips. 

“Are they…” 

“The war broke soon after you… disappeared. Your father fought fiercely. He was hell bent on avenging your death from what Arthur told me. Your mother… I think she died of a broken heart. I'm sorry, Cedric.” 

He shook his head, showing no emotions on his perfect face, as if it was carved out of stone. Hermione didn't dare question him anymore on his nature after delivering him such devastating news. Glancing up every now and then at her silent, unmoving companion, she set up a camp made purely out of transfiguration, having stopped walking around with a tent in her beaded bag a long time ago. She would have to think of a way to get food eventually, but at least she had a place to sleep while she studied the Anomaly from this side. Cedric called it a portal but the passageway certainly didn't act like one. It was more of a one way street from what she could glean about its flux in energy, eagerly snatching people from the other side but reluctant to let them go. But was that due to the nature of the anomaly, or the nature of this world? She could already feel the weight of so many questions laying heavily on her shoulders, but she didn't have a choice since she was stuck here until she solved this riddle, and so, she began studying it in earnest, as scientifically as magic would allow. 

 

Time got away from her, as usual when she started a project, so she was surprised to find a steaming plate of steak, fries and vegetables thrust under her nose. Blinking up at Cedric, she was even more surprised to find he wasn't sparkling anymore now that the sun had set, although that made sense now that she thought about it. 

“How did you…” 

She looked around, looking for lights that would indicate a house nearby, but found none. The graveyard on this side seemed as isolated as it was on hers. 

“Magic?” 

Hermione chuckled because he had been a very smart student and couldn't possibly have forgotten about Gawp's laws forbidding the transfiguration of food. 

“Alright. Be all mysterious if you want. Aren't you eating, too?” 

“I ate earlier,” he replied with a mischievous air about him. “But go ahead. Would you like some coffee too. Or tea?” 

“Tea would be nice, but how…” 

She trailed off, confused. She had only looked at her plate for a second and Cedric had disappeared without a sound again. 

“Creepy,” she uttered under her breath. 

The food was good though. Hot and tasty and just what she needed to keep working through the night. She wasn't sure it would be enough. In fact, she feared she wouldn't have enough of a lifetime to understand the anomaly. The readings she got from it were contradictory, not to mention her speciality as Unspeakable was Time. Maybe if she had worked in the Space Room instead, she would have a better understanding of this thing. She groaned in annoyance, but it was cut off by the sudden appearance of a large mug of tea. 

“How do you do that?!” 

Once more, she had failed to hear him arrive, or find out where he went for food. 

“Magic?” 

“I'd know if you were a wizard. I'm still waiting to hear your story when you're up for it.” He looked hesitant. “It might help me understand the anomaly,” she added, pointing at the perfect round, dark circle. She would call it a black hole if it wasn't looking so innocent sitting amongst the clover and what she was pretty sure was squirrel droppings. 

“And how did no one find this thing? I bet its should-ducking darkness is visible from space.”

Cedric pointed at a nearby mausoleum. Puzzled at his meaning af first, she soon followed the dragmarks from the ugly piece of gothic architecture to the black hole. 

“You're kidding,” she deadpanned. 

It was a small family mausoleum, but even so, it had to weigh several tons. She doubted she could move it with her magic, and he was telling her he did it with his bare hands? She knew he had no magic anymore. In fact, she doubted he was even human now, but she didn't know of any creature with that much strength apart from giants, which he was definitely not. 

“I'm confused,” she admitted. “Talk.” 

Cedric gave a wry smile. 

“Harry used to say you were bossy, but I never realized how much.”

She crossed her arms and stared him down, or up, as the case may be. He hadn't aged much but he was still much taller than she was. But if he hoped to make her change subjects so easily, he had another thing coming. 

“There's a time discrepancy with this portal. When I came through it was 1918.”

Hermione balked at the idea then looked around her with new eyes, looking for any clue that she was still in her present time, if not dimension, but most of the dates on the surrounding graves were worn to the point she couldn't read them. However, Cedric could not be over a hundred… unless…  “How old are you?” 

“Seventeen.” 

His smile was sad and a bit mischievous. 

“And how long have you been seventeen?”

“87 years.” 

Hermione winced. Talk about a discrepancy. Cedric was  _ old _ , yet still looked like the boyish Hufflepuff heartthrob. He had been turned into an immortal then. A teenager for all eternity. Poor bloke just couldn't catch a break. But that didn't leave many options as to his nature. Despite the differences to the creatures she was used to in her world, he could only be a vampire. It would explain the sharp teeth, but not much else. She recalled his offhand comment earlier and froze, her wand held defensively between them once more. 

“You said you ate earlier?” 

“Relax. I'm a vegetarian.”

She snorted despite herself, trying to picture him sinking his fangs into a tree or carrot. 

“And how does a vampire achieve that exactly?” 

“Vegetarian by vampire standards. I only prey on animals.”

“You're very different from the vampires in our world.” 

“You have no idea. There is no wizarding world here. I always wondered if maybe that influenced how vampires evolved.” 

Hermione nodded in thought. It might explain why the portal did not act the same way depending on what side you were on too, or why time seemed to flow differently. 

“So this is… 2005?” she asked. 

“Yes. I don't mean to sound rude, but you seem quite a bit older than I expected.” 

“2017 on our side. Quite a bit older? Still a cheeky little sod, aren't you?”

Cedric laughed, the sound as melodious as his voice. Nothing like the glum, guttural vampires she had met. 

“Are all vampires here like you?” 

“More or less,” Cedric confirmed. “Pale, strong, fast, beautiful,” he waggled his eyebrows and she blushed despite herself. “Some of us have gifts. I can read minds, for example.” 

Hermione paled, all the blood draining from her face at some of the things she had been thinking. His laugh did not make her feel better. 

“Don't worry. I can't hear you most of the time. Occlumency?”

Hermione sighed in relief then slammed her Occlumency shields tighter because he had said  _ most of the time,  _ meaning she had slipped, letting her guard down. Far from being put out, Cedric seemed to approve of her defensiveness. 

“It's a relief actually, being around you. Hearing what everyone thinks all the time… It's enough to give even a vampire a headache.”

“Ha! Is that why you're hanging around?” 

“Yes and no. You don't expect me to leave you to fend for yourself when it's my fault you're stuck here, do you?”

“I suppose that wouldn't be very Hufflepuff of you, no.”

“I hope you figure the portal out, but if you don't… Well, I'm as close to family as you'll get here. I'll take care of you for as long as you need.”

“I hope you don't expect me to call you Uncle Cedric,” she grimaced. “No offense, but you look like a kid.” 

“Ah, occlumency cuts off the allure too?” 

His comment surprised her, but he was right. She didn't find him half as attractive as she had before slamming her occlumency shields down. She still found him beautiful but in the way she would find a statue beautiful. There was no attraction there, thank Merlin. She thought she had suddenly turned into some sort of pervert. She nodded at Cedric in answer. 

“I think I'll call you Auntie Hermione though,” he teased once more, making her roll her eyes. 

She had been called so much worse. At least Cedric seemed to mean it in an affectionate way. She was a sort of long lost relative after all. She could feel he was changing the subject once more, but she had learned a lot during that short exchange. Time and magic flow was different here, and Cedric didn't seem to believe she could make it back to the other side. He had been subtle about it, trying to reassure her, but his doubts weighed heavily on her heart. 

 

Two days later, Hermione was literally cursing the anomaly. The darn thing wouldn't yield, and it was worse in her case. Cedric could at least still reach through to the other side, even if that proved just as useless in the end. 

He seemed surprised to learn that his attempts to reach out to them had sent a statue down to the pub or set trees on fire. 

“The anomaly must change the nature of your intent the way it does time and magic. On the bright side, that means you're not responsible for kidnapping me. However, that also makes our task of communicating with the other side next to impossible, unless we can make something to protect-”

“Lead.” Cedric said simply.

Hermione hummed in thought then gave a sharp nod of her head at his insight.

“Lead.” she agreed.

It was used a a shield for most outside interference, including magic. It seemed too good to be true, but it was worth a try. Hermione started penning a letter, asking Cedric if he wanted to add anything, looking up from her sheet of paper only when he gave no answer. 

“Cedric?” 

She sighed. Once more with the vanishing act. Honestly, it was starting to get on her nerves and she was going to put a bell on him. At least that way she would know when he left and reappeared. She spelled her letter, making it as impervious as she could. She almost didn't squeak when a loud thud announced Cedric's return. She had been expecting him after all. Although the lump of dull metal was a surprise and she didn't dare ask where he had taken all that lead from on such short notice. 

“Do you want to write a message to anyone?” 

“No. I only had my parents. Everyone else… I guess they moved on…”

“I did inform Harry about you, I hope you don't mind.”

“No, of course not,” he replied as he beat the metal with his bare hands into a small box, scratching “To Harry Potter” into the lid with his nail. Just what was he made of? But after some consideration, he did add a small, hastily-scribbled note to the box. 

“I've had no luck getting through,” she told Cedric once the letter was safely sealed. “Would you mind…” 

“I'll do my best,” he promised, tucking the lead box under his arm. 

Kneeling at the edge of the anomaly, he let his upper body dive in, head first, before his arms reached into it, holding the box tightly. From her side, it seemed as if nothing was happening. Cedric appeared to be cut in two and she was glad she had secured the perimeter, making it unplottable or she wasn't sure what anyone would make of the sight. An hour later, Cedric had not moved an inch and she was worried sick she had hurt him. All her poking about the anomaly might have changed it somehow… 

She sat at his side, a silent vigil, counting the hours, two, three… Until he finally moved, sat up and grinned at her. 

“It's done,” he said as if nothing was out of the ordinary. 

Hermione gave a weak chuckle, then threw herself into his arms, only half surprised to find his body as hard and cold as granite. 

“What's wrong?” Cedric asked stiffly as he patted her back awkwardly. 

“You've been gone  _ for hours,”  _ she said, trying not to sound as desperate as she had felt. 

“Oh, yeah… That happens. Sorry. I should have warned you. Could you…” He pushed her back. “Sorry. It's just that you smell good. I should probably go hunting and then… Will you come with me?”

“Where to?” 

“Home. I have…” he looked sheepish and ducked his head before finishing. “School.”

Hermione had never laughed so hard in her life. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione had to resign herself to the idea she couldn't return to her own world just yet, not without outside help. So she accepted Cedric's offer and resolved to study this world in the meanwhile. It's not like she would be overly missed since she had no family nor boyfriend back home. Harry would miss her, she knew, but he had Ginny and the kids to think about. He would be fine without her help if he used that brain of his now and then. 

“You're sure your enchantments will hold until we return?” Cedric asked once more. 

“Don't be insulting. Besides, if we want them to be able to answer, blocking the anomaly with a ruddy mausoleum isn't very conducive to that aim.” 

“Granted. And the portkey?”

“If you're absolutely certain the geography of both worlds is  _ exactly _ the same…” 

Cedric nodded. 

“A carbon copy.” 

“Then we are ready to go. It's kind of exciting using an illegal, long distance portkey,” she confessed. 

Not having to abide by the Statute of Secrecy or any other International Law made everything so much easier. “First stop, New York City!” 

 

It took a couple of jumps after that to make it all the way to Seattle. Hermione had never been so glad she had travelled a lot as an Unspeakable on the other side, otherwise, this trip with Cedric would have been a lot more problematic since she did not exist in this world and had neither papers, nor money. She might as well be a ghost. 

In Seattle, Cedric told her to climb on his back and hold on tight. From that point on, Hermione was pretty sure she had been screaming her head off all the way to the place he had called Forks. She punched him in the shoulder as soon as he let her slide down his back onto her wobbly legs, but she regretted it immediately, shaking her hand in the air when it felt like she had just punched a brick wall. 

“I'm never piggy-back riding you again,” she muttered, freezing when she heard a melodious chuckle behind her. 

Turning around slowly, she saw a magnificent house first, then a veritable tribe of vampires with various degrees of amusement painted on their pale, perfect faces. Cedric’s new family. Hermione stopped gesticulating, smoothing down her hair and robes in the hopes she was marginally more presentable after spending several days out in the wild before speeding across the countryside like a rocket. 

She bowed, as was custom in the wizarding world when meeting the head of vampire clan. The older looking vampire still looked younger than her, physically at least, and despite her occlumency shield, he radiated kindness. Hermione stood silently, waiting for Cedric to introduce her, but one of his siblings beat him to it. 

“I didn't know you liked them older. It's hot!” 

The stunning blond at his side stepped hard on his foot with her heel, making the giant of a vampire wince. 

“We barely had time to prepare for your guest,” the smallest of them all, a tiny brunette with spiked hair, added with a moue of disappointment. “I only saw you appear suddenly in New York with your new friend in tow.”

Hermione gaped in surprise. She had  _ seen _ them? In his cryptic way, Cedric had mentioned others of his kind having “gifts” but she had imagined other mind readers, not seers. Oh, but this adventure on the other side was more interesting than anything else she had been studying this last decade or so. 

“Maybe we should take this conversation inside?” the head of the family asked, staring at her with undisguised interest. 

Hermione gulped, very conscious she was about to step into a closed area full of vampires, a couple of which seemed downright hostile to her presence, but she trusted Cedric, and he had promised her protection in this world, even if he did it out of some misguided guilt at having brought her here. Hermione had been the one poking at a magical mystery with absolutely no idea of what it was and no back up to boot. If she hadn't been sucked into this world, she might have died from the magical backlash, or worse, been fired from the Ministry for gross incompetence. 

 

Once everyone was settled around the large sitting area, so white and pristine, it hurt her eyes, Cedric was finally able to introduce her. 

“I went to England, as you know, and successfully made contact with the other side this time… But I accidentally brought back an old schoolmate, Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is my family. My parents, Carlisle and Esme, and my siblings, Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper.”

He said it in a way that left no doubt that they were paired off, and she had to wonder where Cedric’s better half was. She nodded or smiled at each of them in turn depending on how warm their own greeting was. It was Rosalie and Jasper who seemed the most standoffish. 

“You mean…” Carlisle asked with hesitation looking at Cedric, before addressing her directly. “You're a witch?” 

Hermione smiled and nodded. Cedric had been very cagey about his life in this world, and had decided to leave before she could ask him about his new home and family, putting her in their midst before she could think better of it. 

“There's no such thing,” the one called Emmett snorted. 

Hermione raised an eyebrow in challenge before turning their table into a pig, letting it wander off to sniff at the carpet. She bit back her smug smile as they all stared at the pink swine invading their kitchen without a word. It was as shocked as they were going to look, she knew. 

“I liked that table,” Esme sighed. 

“It'll turn back,” Hermione promised, a bit abashed at her heavy handedness. 

“I like the pig better. Is it edible?” Emmett asked with a wicked grin. 

Hermione knew she was going to get along with this vampire at the very least. He reminded her a bit of George with all his joking about. 

“I thought you were insane,” Rosalie said, looking at Cedric. “All that stuff about magic and wizards from another world…” 

Hermione scowled at the pretty blonde. How long had she known Cedric exactly? He wasn't the sort to lie just for the sake of lying. But far from being angered by her words, they seemed to boost Cedric's confidence. 

“I invited Hermione to stay with us for a while, if that's alright with you all.” 

“Can we trust her?” Jasper asked, talking for the first time. 

“Technically, she's more at a risk than us, and her kind are used to hiding from humans. They blend in much better than we do, in fact.” Cedric said. 

“I would never put any of you at risk,” Hermione promised. “And I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can. It's just that I don't know anyone else here…”

She trailed off, feeling silly. Hermione hated being such an imposition. She could have managed on her own, but the loneliness had been too daunting to contemplate and Cedric's offer too tempting to refuse. 

“It's fine, dear,” Esme said, her voice soft and comforting as she put an arm around her. “We're not used to having guests, as you can imagine, but I, for one, am delighted to meet one of my son's old school friends.”

Her declaration seemed to clear the matter and everyone relaxed slightly. 

“Even if they do turn my furniture into farm animals,” she added with a disapproving glance at the fat pig which was letting Emmett give it a belly rub, emitting soft snorts of appreciation.

“So how was Edward as a human?” Carlisle asked. 

“Edward?” Hermione asked in confusion. 

“Oh, I, uhm, changed my name when I… changed. I didn't know yet if there was another Cedric Diggory running around and didn't want to get him in trouble if there was, so I improvised.” 

“Cedric,” Rosalie snorted inelegantly before covering her mouth in dismay. 

“It's pretty bad,” Jasper agreed. 

“Your name is  _ Jasper,”  _ Cedric muttered in reply, and Hermione thought he had a point there but… Well,  _ her _ name was Hermione so she didn't think she had a leg to stand on. She coughed politely to stop the teasing though. 

“ _ Edward _ ,” she said pointedly, receiving a grateful nod from Cedric, “Was the school’s sweetheart and poster boy. He was the Hufflepuff's prefect, the House of the loyal and hard working, and also the school's Triwizard champion, which means even magic chose him as the best our kind had to offer. I didn't get a chance to know him well, but I know he was open minded and always lent an ear to whoever needed a talk.”

Carlisle nodded. 

“That's very interesting. Would you say it's an accurate description?” he asked Cedric. 

“I suppose. Hermione has always been too kind for a Gryffindor though, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.”

“Gryffindor?”

“The House of the stupidly brave,” Hermione answered truthfully. 

“Fight first, wonder if it was a good idea later,” Cedric reminisced and Hermione laughed because that resumed all her years at Hogwarts quite well. 

“Any good in a fight?” Emmett asked with a joyful gleam in his eyes. 

Hermione looked the mountain of muscles up and down and scoffed. 

“You wouldn't last a minute against me.” 

“You're on, witch!” 

“Maybe not now?” Cedric intervened. “She's been travelling all day, it wouldn't be a fair fight.” 

“Tomorrow then,” Emmett pressed, offering his hand. 

Hermione shook it, or tried to, but all she could do was try not to wince as he pressed hers into his bear sized paws. She was going to have to be extra sneaky if she wanted to make it out in one piece. Cedric then dragged her up to the stairs with Alice and Emmett still trailing behind them, asking more questions about him, her, and magic in general, until Cedric slammed his door in their faces. He stared at the door, then the floor, and sighed. 

“Alice has laid out an outfit for you in the bathroom and Esme is cooking you dinner. I guess you won't escape them so easily.”

Hermione chuckled. 

“I don't mind. I was a regular at the Burrow, you know. They can't possibly be more overbearing than the Weasleys.”

Cedric made a face that said they might be. 

“Do you have any idea how many redheads there were by the time I left? Because I never managed to count them all. That place was a circus. A very loud, messy and explosive circus.”

“You have a point,” he conceded. 

She looked around his room curiously. It was tasteful and orderly. Literature and music were two passions of his that she could see, but she also noted the absence of a bed, the lack of which was quite obvious when standing in the middle of a bedroom. 

“Where do you sleep?” 

“I don't.” 

“Never? Not even in a coffin sort of way?”

“No,” he chuckled. “I'm very glad this side’s vampires have nothing in common with the other side's.”

“Garlic, mirrors, holy water, stakes?”

She could swear she heard laughter from downstairs while Cedric shook his head. 

“So your major drawback is that you sparkle in the sun like a disco ball?”

Cedric shrugged and pointed to his sofa. 

“I thought you could transfigure this into a bed? I will leave you my room until you find something better.” 

“Sure? I don't want to kick you out. I feel like such an imposition already.” 

“I don't sleep and I'll be at school most days. It's fine,” he reminded her. 

Hermione tried not laughing at the idea of a centenarian attending high school and failed once more. In her opinion, they were taking the difficult option when they could just say they were homeschooled. She couldn't imagine how tedious it had to be to attend school for the umpteenth time with teenagers and all their drama. 

“Besides, you'll be a nice change of pace around here. We do tend to get bored with immortality.”

 

Hermione accepted that explanation. She always felt she didn't have enough time to accomplish all her projects, whether professional or personal, but immortality, without the respite of sleep in between days, seemed too daunting to consider. Cedric might as well be two hundred years old by now. 

When she walked into the gigantic, luxurious bathroom, she realized they would have an easier time of amassing wealth too. Maybe she wouldn't be too much of an imposition after all. Surely feeding and clothing one measly little mortal wouldn't put a dent in their funds, even if Alice seemed to think she liked to wear frilly lingerie and high quality silk dresses. It being her only change of clothes available, it was either that or joining them at the dinner table naked, because the clothes she had travelled in were beyond repair by now. 

With a put-upon sigh, Hermione slid into Alice's clothes. They were surprisingly comfortable and fit her perfectly, but seeing such an outfit paired with her wild, unmanageable hair was just plain ridiculous. Not to mention she was cold. Thankfully, she found a nice, soft, beige-coloured jumper in Cedric’s room and she pulled it over her head with a cheshire smile. Alice's cry of outrage at the fashion faux-pas when she descended the stairs was just the cherry on top. 

“Just because you don't have a warm-blooded circulatory system doesn't mean I can go around with barely a layer of clothes on me,” Hermione pouted. 

“She's right, honey,” Esme said. “I'm sure your outfit was perfect, but we wouldn't want our guest to end up with pneumonia barely a day into our care, now, would we?”

“You left that pullover out on purpose, didn't you?” Alice asked, turning on Cedric rather than argue with the matriarch. 

“I don't know what you mean,” Cedric replied with a poker face worthy of a Slytherin. 

He did ruin it by winking at her though, and Hermione found herself grateful for his attention. Dinner was a strange affair with them all staring at her while she ate. The food was delicious though and conversation was lively bar from Rosalie and Jasper, the first glaring at her while the second looked disturbingly like the Ministry owl she trusted her letters to. He was a bit too wide-eyed and skittish, giving her the impression he was going to take flight any second because of her presence. Hermione didn't mind. She had learned long ago she couldn't be liked by everybody. She'd give it time. 

Something she had a lot of, she'd wager, given the time discrepancies between this world and her own. Hell, it might be years before Harry even made contact with her. 


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione settled in to the Cullen home with surprising ease. She got on well with everyone after a few days. Jasper, she had learned, was their newest vegetarian and he was still having trouble with his new diet. Her presence in his home was a constant temptation, but they all waved off her concern, as much for him as herself, saying it was good training for him. Hermione didn't mind, but she did find it unsettling at times to be looked at like a tasty snack. 

That was a good excuse, however,  _ not _ to stay cooped up all the time at the Cullen estate. She visited the town, sometimes on foot because she had ever passed her driving licence, sometimes apparating there. It depended mostly on the weather, and she didn't mind walking since she found the place that had become her temporary home so enchanting. 

The forests were old, lush and rich with wildlife. Dark too in parts. Dangerous. But she was inexplicably drawn to the heart of the woods until she felt it for the first time: a brush of magic. She was so excited by her find that she half ran into the forest and promptly fell down a slope a few minutes later. She had a miserable time of it climbing back up to the road, then started her trek back home because she doubted she could manage apparating without splinching herself in her state. She wasn't walking very fast and was hoping someone would happen to be taking this remote road so she could ask for a lift, since her ankle hurt so bloody much. She hoped she hadn't sprained it and was debating to try fixing it with magic, wincing with every step. No time to fret too much about it in the end, because she could hear a speeding car approaching and wasn't too surprised to see Jasper's bright yellow sports car. 

“Hop in,” Alice said, twisting around to open the passenger door from inside. 

Hermione didn't need to be told twice. She couldn't wait to get her shoe off. It felt like someone had cast a shrinking jinx on it. 

“You saw?” she asked in a defeated voice because she knew there was no way them being there was a coincidence. 

“I did,” her tone was flat but there was a definite twinkle in her eyes. “You've got a… twig right there.”

Alice's cold fingers plucked the offending piece of wood out of her hair as well as a couple of leaves before Hermione realized they weren't heading home. 

“Where are you taking me?”

“To see Carlisle at the hospital. You're injured,” Alice replied as if she was a bit slow for asking. 

“I don't need a doctor. A bit of ice and I'll be fine. I'm sure Carlisle has actual patients who really need his expertise.”

“Carlisle will be very cross with us if we don't.”

Hermione seriously doubted that and Alice's pout was too exaggerated to be sincere, but she wavered under her insistence and puppy face and finally gave in… 

“Jasper!” Hermione snapped when she realized he'd been the one to influence her agreement to go along. “You're such a Slytherin.” 

“Thank you,” he replied with one of his rare smiles. 

They had all wanted to be sorted during one of the strange family dinners where she was the only one to eat. Even Rosalie had been curious about which house she would have belonged to. Having known them for only a week by then, she and Cedric first explained about the different Houses and their founders, about the qualities they looked for, or not. Even as Edward, Cedric still thought he belonged into Hufflepuff, but they had fun deciding where to put the others. Carlisle was a shoo in for Ravenclaw and Esme for Hufflepuff. Emmett belonged in Gryffindors and Rosalie in Slytherin, but no one could agree where to place Alice and Jasper, so, as the hat would do, they let them decide. Hermione and Edward were both a bit miffed at having their respective Houses disregarded in favour of Slytherin, of all things, especially as the snakes outnumbered them now. 

The unofficial sorting did create bonds between her and Emmett though. He was really proud to be sorted into Gryffindor so Hermione magically knitted him a scarf in their colours during the night. 

They had their duel too, during which Hermione discovered the vampires in this world were resistant to spells the way giants were in her own world. It made sense, she concluded, them being close to stone, so it took extra effort just to slow down Emmett and avoid him. In the end, she was too exhausted to continue and surrendered, but promised a rematch when she thought up a strategy against their spell resistant hide. 

 

But today, Jasper must have been feeling especially devious, because not only was he making her go to the hospital for nothing, but he wouldn't let her hobble her way there either and carried her princess style all the way to the lobby while she hung on, her cheeks bright red with mortification. On the bright side, they skipped the paperwork, which she had none of, and headed straight for Carlisle. 

“What happened?” he asked as soon as he saw them, walking towards them a tad too fast for a human. 

“It's nothing,” Hermione said. “Put me down, Jasper. This is ridiculous.” 

“She fell down a hill,” Alice said. “Her ankle hurts and she can't take her shoe off.” 

Carlisle directed them towards a free bed despite her protests, but her perfectly reasonable arguments were cut off short, replaced by pained whimpers when he tried to take her shoe off for her. It wasn't anywhere close to the cruciatus, but by Merlin's balls did it hurt. 

Carlisle glanced around, then winked at her and  _ tore  _ her shoe off in half with his bare hands. She knew they were always careful around her, so their show of strength always took her by surprise. Now that she thought about it, Jasper carrying her around like she weighed nothing was another, understated show of force, especially because he looked rather thin himself. 

“It's awfully swollen.”

“Ouch,” Hermione exclaimed when he poked her bruised flesh. 

“And tender. It's a good thing you didn't let her put weight on it, son. It could have made it a lot worse.”

Jasper smirked at her and she had to bite back her urge to stick her tongue out at him. He might have a few centuries over her but she would show him who was actually an adult here. 

It was a sprain. Nothing too bad, but the Cullen found amusement in tormenting her with their overbearing kindness. Hermione couldn't go anywhere without one of them carrying her around like a sack of potatoes, so she had resolved to stay put, if only so she would heal as fast as possible. Not only because she was going stir crazy, but because their was magic around here, the first she had encountered in this world, and if she could find it, study it, maybe she could use it to find a way back to her own world through that damn anomaly. 

She didn't share her theory with Edward, not yet. She wanted to have some proof, other than having felt a spark of magic in the woods. Besides, the “kids” were busy planning for their first day of school the next day which meant they were off hunting, drinking blood to their hearts’ content so they wouldn't prey on the poor human children around them. She didn't tease them too much about it though. The masquerade was necessary for their kind to blend in, just like the Statute of Secrecy was necessary for wizards and witches in her world. Not to mention chances were high Rosalie would rip her head off if she poked fun at her. She tolerated her, but that wada out it. 

 

On her first day of freedom, Hermione escaped Esme's vigilance and apparated to Forks before the others returned from school. The town was small but to their credit, they had a store for mostly everything if you weren't too picky. They even had a bank and a post office which is more than she could say of small towns in her own country. A quick check of the billboard of the town’s map confirmed there was a sports shop too. A bit more out of the way than she'd hoped, but a little walk might do her some good now. Time to strengthen that ankle of hers. 

By the time she got there, a boy young enough to go to school was already manning the shop. She had better get her shopping done quickly before one of her vampiric babysitters arrived to kidnap her again. For her own good, of course. 

“Hello… Mike,” she told the boy, reading off his name tag. “Would you mind helping me pick hiking shoes, and whatever else I might need to go trekking in the woods around here?”

The idiotic smile he gave her lit up his face and she had a feeling she'd made his day. Maybe he had a bonus on his sales? That somehow made her feel a bit less guilty about spending the money the Cullens had provided her for her needs. She had avoided using it until now, but she didn't fancy another tumble in these treacherous woods, nor another sprain, or worse. 

However she did think the spray of bear repellent was a bit overkill and had him put it back. If she really came face to face with a bear, she would be out of there before you could say Quidditch. She did give the young man a tip though. He had been very helpful, if a bit too enthusiastic. 

 

“Where were you?” Alice exclaimed when she popped back into the Cullen house. 

“Shopping,” Hermione replied holding up the bag. 

Alice picked up one of her hiking boots with a moue of disgust at the clunky, maroon shoe and dropped it back in. 

“In a dumpster?” 

Hermione rolled her eyes. 

“Nooo. At…” she read the ridiculous name off the bag once more. “Newton's Olympic Outfitters, but enough about me. How was school?” 

“Mortally boring,” Rosalie answered from across the room, posing on the white sofa like a bored Greek goddess. “As always.” 

“And how did Jasper hold up?” 

Hermione couldn't see the newest vegetarian anywhere, nor any of the other boys actually.

“Good!” Alice said with a wide smile. “I do think it did him some good to have you living with us. He wasn't as jumpy when a human bumped into him today. It's a huge improvement on last year!”

“I'm glad my humanity is of use to someone.”

But she wondered how close they had come over the years to cause a bloody incident. Poor mortals not realising how close they were to brushing death everytime they walked into school. It wasn't so different to Hogwarts with its werewolves, dark wizards, monstrous dogs and belligerent centaurs, where even the plants were out to kill you. At least the Cullens were  _ trying  _ not to be monsters, so she couldn't fault them for the risks they put the humans in. She herself didn't feel threatened at all living with them, not even by Jasper. Speaking of, the boys returned looking dishevelled. Sparring, apparently. 

“Blowing off steam,” Alice explained. 

“Kids,” Hermione snorted, knowing full well she was by far the youngest one there. 

 

The next few days, the vampires went to school while she went exploring, fully decked out in professional hiker equipment this time. Fingers crossed she didn't take another tumble. She was thorough in her search of the area she had felt the brush of magic last time,. meticulous even, but she couldn't find the source of magic. It was as if it had moved… 

Very likely a magical item or creature in that case. Not a Cullen or another vampire, because like her world's giant, their stone-like qualities kept her from feeling them. She was convinced they did have magic of some kind, but one she couldn't feel or use. 

But if this world had vampires, why not centaurs, dragons or whatever else was hiding in these ancient forests. The problem was finding them. Walking aimlessly searching for magic had not given any results either. She could do an organised search on a wider area, with a grid of the forest and systematic search,. but that would take years. Maybe she could check up on local folklore and legends. There was always some truth to be found in those the way they had in her world. 

Not defeated one bit despite her lack of results, Hermione returned that day and waited for Edward's return to teach her how to use his computer and Internet. 

 

“What are you looking for exactly?” he asked once she had gotten the basics down. Edward couldn't always peek into her mind with her occlumency shields, but it made him both relieved  _ and _ curious about what was going on in her mind. 

“I'm not sure yet. It's just a hunch. You can't feel magic anymore, right?”

Edward shook his head. 

“So there might actually be magic in this world, just not a Wizarding society like there is in ours.” 

“I suppose.” 

“I think you are what would be classified as a magical creature in the Wizarding world, and I think there are more out there. I felt something in the woods. A strong burst of magic. I've been trying to locate the source, but I haven't had much luck yet.”

“You think we're magical?” She nodded. “And that there is something else magical out there?” 

Hermione nodded again, more carefully, wondering where he was going with his line of questioning. 

“Hermione, you can't-” 

A sharp knock at the door cut him off and Carlisle entered without a word, then just stood there, looking intently at Edward until he muttered a reluctant “Fine.” 

“What's going on?” she asked when Carlisle left, then realisation hit. “Oh! You two were having a conversation! That's a neat trick. So what's going on?” 

Edward looked torn, but he shook his head. 

“I can't tell you.” 

Hermione sighed and cast a muffliato around them, the faint buzzing making Edward look around with narrowed eyes. 

“It's a privacy charm Harry stole from Professor Snape.”

“Stole?” he asked, amused. 

“I'll tell you about it if you tell me what you're not supposed to tell me…” 

He chuckled. 

“You know no one has been able to blackmail me with information since I was a human. I do like having you around, but alas, I can't tell you. It's a secret we are bound to hold.” 

“like an unbreakable vow?” 

“The consequences would be much the same, so yes, I suppose.”

“Alright then,” she said, dispelling the muffliato. “I won't pry anymore.” 

“I'm sure you'll find out eventually. Everyone called you the brightest witch of our age for a reason, right?” 

“Of course,” she sniffed. “Now, if you don't mind, I'll just use this Internet thingy to prove it.”

She could swear she heard snickers coming from downstairs. Vampires just couldn't keep their ears to themselves. 

 

After a few hours of research, she only found a few Loch-Ness type monsters and a couple of haunting pertaining to the region. Not exactly what she had been hoping for, but she noted them down to check out, if only to be thorough. She did find a lot of references to local native tribes, the Quileutes in particular, as the land used to belong to them in these parts, but their history, apparently, was orally transmitted, as per traditions.

“Just great.”

Hermione banged her forehead on the keyboard. Was she going to have to sneak into their territory and crawl under a wee one’s bed under cover of night like a boggart of old just to listen to their bedtime stories?

“Well…”

Maybe a less creepy version of that would do.


	5. Chapter 5

“Where are you going out so late?” Esme asked when she had one hand on the handle of the front door.

“Just out. For a bit of fresh air,” Hermione answered immediately.

She wasn’t a night owl by any stretch of the imagination, so she had known her overprotective vampire roommates would question her going out after dark.

“Alright, there’s a switch right to your left to turn on the floodlights outside. I don’t want you to trip on the stairs again, sweety.”

“That happened  _ once _ ,” Hermione muttered as she flipped the switch.

And boy, the Cullens weren’t kidding around. Their floodlights out front seemed to light up the land for miles around. Not exactly the discreet exit she’d hoped for. She walked and walked, but she was still in the light. Freaking paranoid vampires. She would just have to blatantly go out without permission like the adult that she was, and ask forgiveness later once they all got unnecessarily worried. Honestly, what was the worst that could happen? 

_ Falling down a cliff and breaking your neck. Drowning in a flash flood of one of the many, many rivers criss-crossing the forest. Actually finding what magical creature lurks in said forest and finding out it is hungry. Getting run over by a drunk driver and left to agonize in a ditch…  _

Hermione hated when her mind tried to be helpful. That had been a  _ rhetorical _ question to herself, thank you very much. Chances were she would be  _ just  _ fine. It was a small town where the most terrible thing that had happened in the last decade was when Mrs Cavendish’s flowerpot got stolen according to Emmett.

Hermione apparated to where the main road to Forks branched off towards the Quileute Indian reserve called La Push. A place she was familiar with but the winding road looked very foreboding after nightfall. Maybe she should come back during the day to scout it and then apparate the next night directly in the reserve. 

Hermione almost did just that, but changed her mind before she could twist on the spot. She was a war veteran for Pete’s sake. She had faced much worse than a dark, winding road leading into the unknown. Taking a deep breath, Hermione cast the disillusionment charm on herself, shivering at the sensation of cold egg sliding down her body when it was already so cold out, then began walking. 

Her hair stood on end just a few feet down the path, then she got goosebumps and she felt it again: That wonderful sensation of a couple bursts of magic some distance away, strong at first but dimming despite them coming closer towards her position. 

Hermione stilled and held her breath, listening. A twig snapped, making her jump. She peered into the dark undergrowth on her right but couldn't see  _ anything.  _ Then, what she could only identify as a snort made her spin around and she saw them, two glowing golden eyes. Flashbacks of the basilisk assaulted her. Next thing she knew, she was running as fast as her legs would allow, breathing past the burn in her lungs, and she wiped her tears of terror away with her sleeve. She didn't want to be petrified again. So she ran and ran… But then a heavy weight on her back pinned her down. She squeezed her eyes shut. She'd rather be gobbled up than turned to stone for all eternity, because what were the chances there were mandrakes in this world, or someone capable of brewing the potion to unpetrify her? Next to none. 

Grunts and growling interrupted her thoughts of doom and gloom. It sounded as if dogs were having a conversation… No hissing, not anything like a basilisk. Hermione risked an eye open, the golden eyes still glaring down at her, but she was relieved to note they were attached to a very shaggy, huge wolf-like dog. A bit like the Grim. 

“Padfoot?” she asked, feeling a bit confused. 

Why not? After all, if dead Cedric had been reborn here, why not Sirius. The veil was very similar to the magical anomaly she had been pulled through after all. But the Grim above her shifted and a young man grinned down at her. 

“Told you guys it was a woman!” he shouted over his shoulder. 

It was  _ not  _ Sirius. Too young, too tanned, so healthy-looking in fact, it made her feel like a potato in comparison. But then he  _ sniffed _ her _ ,  _ his nose brushing against her exposed neck. 

“You smell nice, blood sucking flavour aside. Did you run away from them? Are you asking for-” 

“Enough!” snapped an older man. 

Naked. Starker. Hermione looked away, only now realising her own captor was equally as naked. Not an animagus then. She would have been marked for life if she'd had to see Sirius and McGonagall naked everytime they shifted. But they weren't werewolves either. They were too beautiful in their wolf form, for starters. Werewolves looked like some twisted nightmare version of a wolf. Besides, it wasn't even the full moon and they obviously shifted at will. 

_ Uhmm… At least I found my magical creatures, so there's that…  _

A third man, thankfully clothed this time, approached them and tossed bundles of clothes at his naked friend. He took custody of her, looking confused when he had to hold seemingly nothing, but he did help her off the cold, hard ground, although he kept an iron grip on her, preventing her from reaching her wand and thus, escaping. When the others returned, they frogmarched her down to La Push in silence, the older one looming behind her. He was obviously their leader, the one she would have to convince she meant no harm. She had to check a couple of times she was still invisible, since she found it so strange they just took that fact in stride. Maybe they had met invisible people before? Honestly, not much would surprise her anymore. 

Finally, she was let into a cosy house with wide windows and wooden everything. She liked it and wished she could curl up in the inviting sofa instead of being tied to the central beam. Not to mention there was a delicious aroma of cake lingering in the air that made her stomach growl. The one who had caught her smirked in her direction with eery accuracy despite her invisibility, then picked a muffin off a side table and bit into it. 

“Tease,” she told him, satisfied when he choked on his mouthful. His friend patted his back, biting back on a smile. It was all very fun until their leader towered over her. He, contrary to his minions, was scary. 

“Who are you?”

“Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you.”

His scowl deepened while the two others elbowed each other. 

“Why are you here?” 

“Because you brought me here? I wasnt coming  _ here _ , per se.” 

Oh, she was definitely channeling her inner Harry. The leader growled. 

“I wanted to visit La Push to find the magical source around these parts. Turns out it was you guys. Yay me.” 

“Magic?” 

“Not a magic I'm familiar with, but definitely magic.” 

The man hummed, looking less cross and more contemplative. 

“Do you know what we are?” 

“That's a tough one. I'm going to have to go with shape shifters, although I'm not sure if you have only the wolf form or more. Like I said, I'm not familiar with your brand of magic.”

“And why were you looking for us?”

“Not for you in particular. I was looking for magic.”

“Magic?” the two others mouthed at each other, the one who had captured her miming something like an explosion. 

Maybe they actually knew more about magic than they appeared. They seemed harmless enough anyway so she'd stick around for now. Not that she could escape yet, but it was only a matter of time she was sure. 

Her disillusionment charm finally wore off, surprising her interrogator enough that he took a step back. 

“What are you? How did you do that?”

“Magic,” she repeated, the “obviously” heavily implied. “I'm… a witch. I know, I know, it sounds bad, but I'm a good witch. A white witch, I suppose, since we call the bad ones dark witches.”

The leader narrowed his eyes at her as if gauging whether she was serious or not. He glanced at his minions and told the one she had  _ not _ seen naked, Jared, to go fetch Black. Then he too sniffed her. Had to be a wolf thing. His eyes widened and he took a couple more steps back. 

“Why do you  _ reek  _ of the Cullens?” he demanded. 

Bit harsh. Hermione tilted her nose towards her shoulder, inhaling deeply, but she certainly didn't  _ stink _ , just her usual scent, but these guys were most likely caninely inclined, with a better sense of smell than she possessed.

“I'm a guest at their home. I'm an old friend of Edward's.”

“Of a  _ blood-sucker _ ?” the one who had captured her asked in disbelief. 

“Paul,” the leader admonished. 

“I think vampire is the politically correct appellation. Besides, he wasn't  _ always  _ a vampire. I knew him before.”

“But he's  _ old. ”  _

“Paul!”

“Yes, that wasn't very polite,” Hermione agreed. 

“He's got a point though. Are you an immortal?” 

“Merlin, I certainly hope not. Seems positively boring. Can you untie me now?” 

“No.” 

Hermione pouted. She was tired of standing but unsure the ropes would actually hold her up if her legs gave out. She had no doubt Paul would laugh at her predicament if she tried though. Soon, Jared returned pushing a man in a wheelchair. The Black they had been talking about if she had to guess. Bit ironic since she had first thought she had found Sirius, the lost Black heir. This Black's face was lined with laugh lines, but he was not finding anything amusing as he rolled in. Jared let go of the wheelchair once they were past the threshold and Black pushed himself closer to her. 

“Hello,” she said when he only looked curiously at her while the leader whispered in his ear. 

Black nodded at whatever was being said, then mulled it over in silence. Even Paul was quiet for once. 

“Untie her,” Black finally said. 

Maybe he was the real leader because the other one immediately obeyed and cut through the rope which pooled at her feet. Hermione rubbed her arms to get the blood flowing again. Between that and their earlier manhandling, she was going to be covered in bruises. She never could have imagined what would happen next. Black asked for the knife from the former leader, then slashed his hand, a deep gouge that spilled blood all over his lap. Hermione gasped, too shocked for words, then her instincts kicked in and she cast a strong healing charm on his hand, and a cleaning spell on his clothes while she was at it. The sight of blood was still somewhat traumatic to her after her seventh year. 

“Alright, I believe you,” Black concluded, at which point the other leader, Sam, she learned, started berating him for not sharing his plan. Hermione huffed and stalked towards the couch she had been eyeing earlier, falling back into it. Shape shifters were an exhausting breed, she learned. Unfortunately, she was beginning to doubt they would be any help in her quest for a way home. Black wheeled closer to the couch.

“But I have to admit, I'm worried you are staying with the Cullens. It isn't safe.” 

“They're vegetarians.” 

Sam and Paul scoffed. 

“Accidents happen,” Black said, to which Sam nodded gravely. “You're welcome to stay with the tribe if you have no place to go.” 

Hermione's eyebrows shot up at the offer, certain it came with a hidden agenda of some sort, more than out of the kindness of their hearts. She wasn't born yesterday. 

“Are your kind and the Cullens at war?” she asked because not much else seemed to make sense. 

Black winced. 

“They didn't tell you? The Cullens?” 

She shook her head. 

“Anything?” he insisted. 

“Not even that I should look out for giant wolves if I went for a walk, if that's what you want to know.”

Black cursed under his breath while Hermione wondered which faction she had just landed in. Both the Cullens and this shape shifting tribe seemed like good people, but if they were at war with each other, so there had to be some bad blood between them. In which case, who was she now amongst? The Order of the Phoenix, or the Death Eaters? Hopefully, it was all just a misunderstanding because she did not want to be caught in the middle. 

“It's late,” Black sighed, wheeling himself around towards the door. “You can stay here with Sam and Emily for the night.” 

Hermione looked around for an Emily, but found none. It did explain the feminine touches she found here and there which made it the the cosy home it was. This Emily was probably asleep at this hour, like any  _ sane _ person would be. Jared pushed Black out of the door and Paul hovered between them and Sam. 

“You two can patrol for the night,” Sam told him. “I'll keep an eye on our guest.” 

He then locked the door, a fat lot of good that would do, then opened a drawer and tossed a blanket and pillow next to her on the couch while Sam made himself comfortable as a giant wolf in front of the hearth where a few dying embers were still radiating heat. 

“I don't think so,” Hermione said and stood. “I'm sorry I came snooping around your reserve, but I don't deserve to be imprisoned for it. I'll just leave, if it's all the same to you.”

The wolf jumped to its feet and relocated in front of the door to growl at her. Hermione didn't like disapparating from the heart of someone’s home, as it was a very impolite thing to do in the Wizarding world, but since she was here against her will… Hermione twisted on the spot and fell. Right onto the wooden floorboards in front of Sam's large snout. The wolf huffed strangely a couple of times, as if it was laughing at her. She tried again, blaming her misfortune on her lack of focus, but she fell again and glared at the huffing wolf. 

“The Cullens aren't going to be happy with you,” she warned but the triumphant glint in his eyes told her that maybe it was exactly what he wanted. 

This house, maybe this whole territory had to have kept some ancient magic that replicated an anti-apparition ward. Maybe there had been witches and wizards in this world's past. Maybe there still was. She would find another way out. She couldn't be the reason for a war between the shape-shifters and the vampires, no matter how small the scale. 


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione had tried to escape several time during the night, but that damn Sam-wolf was there at every turn to block her path, which is why she was sulking at the breakfast table despite her hostess trying to cheer her up with her witty retorts and delicious baking. It was hard not to warm up to Emily, and the way she turned the fierce Sam into a love-struck puppy was hilarious to behold. But Hermione was still cross with the natives for keeping her captive. The Cullens had to be worried sick by now.

On cue, Paul strutted in, grabbed a couple of pancakes and announced that  _ they _ were here. 

“All of them?” Sam asked. 

“Yep.” 

“Good. Take the girl there,” Hermione balked at being called a girl. She was thirty for crying out loud. “We'll return their  _ pet _ with a reminder of the treaty's terms and what should happen if they break it.”

Hermione looked questioningly from one wolf to the other. The Cullens had never spoken of a treaty but she would bet it was part of the secret Edward couldn't tell her, but how did she fit in? Her thoughts came to an abrupt end when Paul snapped his teeth at her, then he sniffed her again and hummed. 

“Almost forgot how good you smell.”

“You, on the other hand, need a shower, young man,” she said with her nose wrinkled. 

“I've been running all night to keep you safe,” Paul muttered as he grabbed her arm to lead her outside. “You might show some gratitude.” 

“For what? I'm not in any danger.”

Paul whirled her around to face him, forcing her up on the tip of her toes. 

“You have no idea what you're dealing with. Those things… They're evil, soulless creatures. You're a meal to them, sweetheart. A pretty snack that walks and talks, and one day, one of them will gobble you up.”

“You don't know them,” she hissed. 

“No, and I don't want to…” He smelled the breeze dancing around them. “But I can smell them. Come on.” 

Jared and Sam joined them halfway through the woods. She was struggling to keep up without tripping. She was exhausted but Paul kept pulling her along so she didn't have much of a choice. She could hear water running ahead when they stopped. 

“Hand her over Paul. You two better change. I'll handle the rest.”

“Remember what I said,” Paul whispered against her ear before pushing her towards Sam and changing into the giant wolf that had caught her last night. His eyes were just as golden but his fur was a beautiful silver in the light of day. She kind of wanted to pet him in this shape, especially when he butted his large head against her, but she refrained upon recalling how much of an annoying loudmouth he was. 

On her right, Jared was a very dark chocolate brown, but she supposed all wolves appeared black in the dark of night. 

“Sam?” came a melodious voice she knew well. 

Carlisle had come for her, and she saw all the others too when they stepped past the brush to the top of a ravine overlooking a stream far below. There they all stood, the seven Cullens in all their glorious beauty. Seeing them like this, it was a wonder the humans did not see them for what they were. To think they worried in the Wizarding World when the purebloods went into the muggle world wearing out of fashion clothes, or a pink tutu with boots. But the Cullens’ very bodies were too perfect, unnaturally so, like antique statues of the Gods come to life. Even Edward had little to do with the Cedric she had known in school. 

“Hermione, are you alright?” Esme asked, eyes wide with worry at the sight of the giant wolves at her side. 

“Fine. I'm fine.” 

“She's better off with us,” Sam said, earning himself a few growls from the vampires. “But for some reason, she wishes to return to you, so I feel obligated to remind you of the terms of our treaty.” 

“We haven't forgotten and we will uphold them,” Carlisle said. “We did not tell Hermione about you for that very reason. I'm sorry her… curiosity has caused some tension between us.”

Sam scoffed, the silence between the two groups growing heavy when Sam did not let go of her. 

“What is she to you anyway?” 

“A dear friend.” 

Alice and Edward nodded emphatically while Esme twisted her hands anxiously. 

“And I'm to believe you having her powers in your hands is just a coincidence?”

Hermione stared at Sam in shock. What the hell was he implying? 

“I'm not sure what you're trying to say?” Carlisle replied coolly, echoing her thoughts. It was rare to see him be anything but amiable, but his tone made shivers run down her back. She'd hate to see him get crossed. 

“I'm sure you don't.”

Sam finally let her go and turned around, Jared following him closely as they disappeared behind the brush, while Paul lingered a few feet behind her. Hermione looked over the gap between her and her friends but felt dizzy from the height, as if the void was pulling her down. 

“You can do it, Hermione,” Edward encouraged her. 

“Are you mad? I'll fall. I'd fall even if I had a broom.”

“Can't I just-” Emmett said, motionning he jump back and forth over the invisible frontier, before Carlisle cut him off with a sharp “No.” 

“Can you apparate?” Edward asked. 

Hermione tried. It was a very short distance. She wouldn't be able to splinch herself all that much even if she tried. Unfortunately, she only twisted on the spot and fell back on the ground. 

“That's a no. Any other ideas?” she asked as she brushed dead leaves and dirt off her clothes. 

“Levitation?” 

“Are you  _ trying _ to get me killed,  _ Edward _ .” 

“Maybe we can just walk to a better spot. There's a dead tree across the ravine a few miles up.” Hermione grimaced at Esme's idea. “Or the bridge further up.”

“That's over ten miles!” Rosalie protested. “It's going to take her  _ hours _ . She's slow even by mortal standard.”

“ _ She _ is standing right here, Rose.” Rosalie raised an eyebrow. “Meaning I can hear you?” 

She clearly didn't care. 

“Just jump already.” 

No, she really,  _ really _ didn't care. 

“I know a curse that can make you spit slugs for hours and hours,” she said to no one in particular, but Rosalie was quiet after that. 

Paul, on the other hand, huffed in amusement and head butted her right in the arse. 

“Oï! Watch it,” Hermione admonished, but it was hard to speak harshly to such a beautiful creature. She might as well try to kick a puppy. “What do you want? Aren't you supposed to go home with your pack?” 

“He wants you to ride him,” Edward said. 

“I beg your pardon,” she said, her cheeks bright red as Emmet guffawed. 

“Poor phrasing,” Edward admitted. “Although-” 

Paul growled regaining her attention. 

“You want me to go on your back?” Hermione asked him, to which he nodded, his large head bobbing up and down. “Aren't I too heavy?” 

Paul snorted and hit her flank once more, his bushy tail wagging furiously. 

“Fine. I guess it's the least worst of all our options.”

Paul lay down so she could straddle him with more ease since he was about as tall as a horse. She put her arms around his neck so as not to pull out his grey fur, but squeaked in fright when he suddenly stood again. To counter her loss of balance, she grabbed handfuls of fur and Paul growled again. Since Edward was chuckling, the wolf was probably cursing at her but she wasn't in any actual danger. Next thing she knew, the forest was a blur, the wolf and her bounding at incredible speed around trees and over rocks. This was worse than piggy back riding Edward. Hermione closed her eyes and prayed to Merlin she arrived in one piece. 

“Hermione? Sweety? You can let go now.” 

Esme’s comforting voice was the only reason she risked one eye open. All the Cullens were standing on the other side of what barely deserved the name of bridge. It was more like an ancient tree fell over the ravine and people made the best of it. Her friends looked worriedly at her, but did not step forward, as if there was an invisible line keeping them on the other side. Not wanting to be any more of a burden, Hermione unclenched her fists, wincing at the tufts of fur clinging to her sweaty palms. 

“Sorry,” she told Paul in a shaky whisper before sliding down his flank. “I'd thank you for the ride, but I doubt I would sound sincere right now.” 

Paul licked her face. It was disgusting and she wiped off the slobber with the back of her sleeve immediately, but she was relieved he didn't hold a grudge. The shape shifters weren't a bad sort. They just happened to be her friends’ enemies. 

As soon as Hermione had taken a step over the tree-bridge, Paul bolted, sounds of giant paws thudding against the forest ground getting dimmer by the second. Hermione walked as fast as her shaky legs would allow, right into Edward's waiting arms. 

“Maybe keeping secrets wasn't such a good idea,” she said as Edward picked her up in his arms. “And if you dare run through the forest with me, I swear I'll find a way to may you sparkle under the moon too.”

Edward tsked at her, but he looked equally amused and relieved to have her back in the midst of his family. 

“Your wish is my command,” Edward mocked and darted off at a light trot. 

Not much of an improvement, but he was trying and they were back home in not time. Hermione apologised profusely, explaining why she had gone and how very wrong it had turned out. 

“When we signed the treaty with Ephraim Black, I got a glimpse of his sisters. He had three of them, and I didn't know why they stood out so much to me until I met you.”

Hermione sat on the edge of her seat, hanging onto Carlisle's every word. 

“The shape-shifters do not smell appetising to us. It's an interesting evolution in self defence and this particularity spreads to their tribe. For instance, you, right now, smell strongly of wet dog.”

Hermione smelled herself but couldn't detect what had most of her vampire hosts wrinkle their noses at her, or in Rosalie’s case, stop breathing entirely, which was much more disturbing to see. 

“The three sisters, however, were more appealing to me than was natural, and that despite the stench of wet dog which clung to them. I had never been able to figure out why until I met you, a witch, with the very same particularity as it turns out.”

“Not Cedric? I mean Edward?” 

“He was on the brink of death when I found him. I imagine the spark of magic had already left him, or that the smell of death was already too strong.”

So the three Black sisters could have been witches, a small familial coven, which was the strongest kind of all. It might account for the anti-apparating ward all over the reserve, but if it had been cast so long ago, the reserve itself had to be built on a lay line of magical power as ancient and powerful as the one Hogwarts sat on. She would  _ love _ to study it, but that didn't seem plausible given the tensions existing between the vampires and shape-shifters . 

Carlisle's story however, worried her. If witches smelled more appealing to vampires than muggles, was it possible her kind had simply been eaten out of existence? The vampires in this world were efficient killing machines that magic could do little against from what she gathered from her matches against Emmet. They were simply too fast, too strong, too resilient… Her occlumency shields must have fallen because Edward looked stricken for a moment. Hermione excused herself. She had a lot to think about, because not only was she more appealing to vampires, and not in a good way, but to the shape-shifters too from what she could tell of their reaction to her scent. What if that was the case for every other magical creature in this world? She suddenly felt like the last treacle tart on the platter during the Hogwarts welcome feast, hungry eyes on her from everywhere. 


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione continued sparring with Emmet, but also with Edward and Alice on occasion. She soon found out she had to use sneaky spells that caught them off-guard instead of using powerful, showy ones they could easily dodge and that had little effect on them anyway. This discovery meant the mind arts and silly hexes worked best, such as the sleeping charm, confundus spell or shoelace-tying jinx. She could delay an attack or keep them busy until help arrived, but she hadn't yet found out a way to dispose of them on her own since, according to them, it included dismemberment and liberal use of fire. The latter, she could do. She could even use fire spells to burn them "alive" in a bind, although it might just pisss them off. But dismemberment? She didn't have the physical force to tear them apart, and her magic couldn't cut into their stony skin. 

“There has to be stone-cutting spells. I mean, look at Hogwarts, that wasn't hand-made,” Edward said. 

“I completely agree, but I never learned those spells. Even if I had come across them, I wouldn't have bothered. Who needs them apart for magical builders? And even then, a reparo on the old stonework usually does the trick.”

“I'm sure we'll figure something out eventually, and in the meanwhile, you can always slow them down long enough to make a run for it. That's more than any other mortal can achieve.”

Edward had a point, and now that she felt more at ease about eventual rogue vampires taking a fancy to her blood, especially after Carlisle had explained vampires were a territorial sort and this area had clearly been claimed by their family, Hermione decided it was time to find a place of her own. She had been in this world for a few weeks already, and it seemed she was here to stay. She couldn't live on her friends’ dime forever, and she was already restless from the boredom. She needed a purpose, a job, and in the long run, people who would grow old with her. She was planning way ahead, but that's how she found peace in her life. If she just waited around for Harry or someone else from her own world to come help her, she would drive herself mad. Besides, checking out the job offers or only realtor in Forks didn't mean she was moving out  _ tomorrow _ . She was just being prepared. 

But vampires were  _ drama-queens _ , the whole lot of them. Esme's sad eyes coerced her into accepting her offer to redecorate wherever she chose to live, Alice to fill her closets once she moved in, and Edward, her library shelves. Emmet accepted to teach her to drive since that was actually something she wanted to learn, while Jasper insisted she should learn how to use a gun which she absolutely did not want to, but the traitor used his emotion mojo and she caved. Carlisle thought she could do well in the hospital using her healing magic discreetly and she promised to think on it. Everyone kept offering something or other and guilting her into accepting. They knew exactly how to play her like a fiddle. 

Her favourite present, which she couldn't have refused even if she wanted to, came in a simple brown envelope. 

“They don't look fake at all,” Hermione marvelled at her new identity papers, inclining them this way and that under the light. 

“Technically, they are real papers, despite the forgery. They'll check out if you're controlled by the police. Only problem was, we found you do have a double here, and she lives in the States too.”

“Oh,” Hermione was at a loss for words, although it did explain the strange last name attached to her first name. The news surprised her, because Edward had told her there was no Cedric Diggory in this world. She imagined it was due to her muggle heritage, while Cedric had been a pureblood through and through. 

“What is she like?” she asked, devoured by curiosity at what her life could have been if it weren't for magic. 

“Just like you. Except for the teeth and scars. And she's a math expert for the NASA. She had a residence in Florida, but travels quite a lot.” Jasper said. "She's single and has a cat she takes everywhere with her." 

"Do you have the cat's colour too?" she teased. 

"Orange." 

"Oh.. I was kidding. That's very… thorough." She sighed. "She sounds a lot less boring than me,” 

“I bet she can't turn a table into a pig,” Emmett pointed out, making her chuckle. 

He was right. She had magic, and nothing, not even a cool career and living the life on a sunny beach with her faithful cat was worth not having that unique spark of wonder. 

Pointing her wand at a large boulder nearby, Hermione transfigured it into a grouchy bear. Emmett looked between her and the fury menace with a wide grin lighting up his face. 

“Go ahead,” she said as a thank you for cheering her up.  

In the blink of an eye, Emmett was wrestling the beast and by the sound of him, he was having the time of his life. He was such a kid.

“I wish you'd just stay with us. We haven't had this much fun in decades,” Edward said.

“I don't think I'll be able to handle Emmett's teasing when I get my first grey hair, and I wish you’d all stop fussing. I haven’t even found a place or a job yet. I haven’t even packed my bags, for Merlin’s sake.”

“Time is relative,” Jasper said wisely.

“Did you just Einstein me?” Jasper grinned his shark like grin. Terrifying. “Nevermind. So who is this Hale I'm named after? It's not the comet, is it? You're not trying to make a pun on celestial bodies from another planet, right? Because that would be a terrible pun.”

“No,” Jasper said softly. “That is actually my name, which I have shared with Rosalie, for obvious, practical reasons. I'd be honored if you accepted it as well.”

Hermione was feeling foolishly emotional by his offer. Of course they couldn't  _ all _ be named Cullen since they did not hide their involvement with one another. Something which would have caused quite a stir in such a small town she was sure, but it had not crossed her mind until then. 

“Well, your hair is just as unmanageable as mine, so I'm sure I can pass for a Hale,” she said with a sniffle. 

“Mine is perfect!” Rosalie shouted from the house's open door, causing the boys to roll their eyes. 

“Hermione Hale, Hermione Hale…” she repeated to herself. “Yeah, I could get used to that, it sounds really good actually.”

She forced a smile. Don't get her wrong, she was relieved she had an identity that wouldn't put her double in trouble, as well as papers to prove it, and a family who accepted her so readily, but it wasn't that easy to let go of her name, the one her parents had given her. She'd lost both of them to her memory charm during the war and their name was all she had left, even more so here, in this parallel universe. Judging by the calming wave that settled around her, Jasper seemed to have picked up on her grief though. 

“Thanks,” she said again. 

 

The Fates must have decided to make life especially interesting for the Cullen family this year, because a month after collecting a stray dimension traveller, it decided to throw a siren at them too. 

Hermione had been a bit confused at first by the news, because she, of course, was picturing the mere-people from the Black Lake. The vampires were all talking so fast, she barely managed to catch a few words here and there, trying to puzzle them together, but she didn't miss out on the tension, especially coming from Edward. Even Jasper wasn't able to sooth him down. He looked anguished and as if he would bolt at the first occasion. 

Eventually, Carlisle did tell him to go if that's what he thought he needed. Esme hugged him tight, whispering in his ear, her words seeming to sooth him some. When it was her turn, Edward tensed. 

"I'm not sure what's going on," she told him. "Is there anything I can do?" 

He shook his head. 

"The monster in me… it almost took over… I almost…" 

He shuddered visibly. It had to have been pretty bad, especially because Edward was always so in control of himself, not twitchy like Jasper. 

"But you didn't?" 

"No. But I need to leave for a bit. Get away from it. From her." 

"Is there anything I can do?" 

"Let Esme mother you while I'm away?" He chuckled at her horrified expression. Emse could smother you with kindness if you let her.

"So you'll be back?" 

Edward clenched his jaw. 

"I'm sorry. I know I promised to take care of you, but… Or you could come with me?" 

"Where are you heading?" 

"North. Alaska. We have cousins settled over there, in Denali, vegetarians like us."

A shiver ran down Hermione's spine at the thought of living so far North. Weather wasn't always the best here in Forks, but at least it was bearable. 

"Or maybe not. I'll keep in touch," he promised. "Sorry if I don't hug you right now. It's a bit… I need to hunt." 

Hermione nodded, a bit sad to see him go, but it's not like he was leaving her one her own. She had his whole family to look after her. 

Dinner that night was subdued however, all strained smiles and stilted conversations. They were all worrying about Edward, and after getting the whole story out of Alice, so was she. And yet, after hearing Emmett's account of coming across his own siren, Hermione thought Edward had been extremely strong to resist the call of her blood. 

Herself, in comparison, might smell better than the average human but at least she wasn't the equivalent of hard drugs to an addict,  merely an unusual treat that tested their resolve without driving them to madness.

 

The next few days were just as morose. Alice was busy keeping her inner-eye on Edward while Jasper focused his energy on calming Alice when they were home and avoiding the siren while at school. Emmett was convinced they should just get rid of the girl so his brother could come back, so Rosalie had to keep a leash on him because no one else agreed with that plan. Carlisle worked twice as much at the hospital and Esme was moping about. Hermione did her best to keep her busy, going so far as to invent problems she didn't have, but she was running out of ideas after her manicure emergency and the piss poor excuse of the technology-impaired witch who doesn't know how to use a microwave. 

So when Alice texted everyone after a week had gone by that Edward was on his way back, a cheer went through the family and they prepared a welcome back party for him. 

_ Vampires. Drama Queens.  _

 

After that little crisis was averted, Edward having decided to struggle through his hunger with the help of his siblings, to confront the siren, everything went back to normal. Mostly. Edwards was acting a bit weird: disappearing in the middle of the night, hunting daily, grinning more than usual, or so lost in his thoughts, his brothers had this game of seeing who could pile up the most objects on top of his head… 

"What's up with Edward?" she finally asked. 

"Urgh, don't ask," Rosalie replied, her hair puffing up the way a cat's fur would before she strutted out towards the garage. 

"Okay. What's up with  _ her _ ? Is it the full moon? Is it like PMS for vampires?" 

Alice tittered, her laugh likes bells. 

"Edward is in love, I think. He keeps denying it, but I know better. So of course, Rosalie is jealous."

Hermione frowned in confusion. 

"Why would Rosalie be jealous?" 

"Long story, and not mine to tell," Alice said as she slid a cool around her shoulders. "Maybe she'll tell you one say. Did I ever tell you of the day when I was turned?" 

Hermione shook her head, eyes wide. 

"I didn't think you would want to share, either of you. I mean, it's very personal…" 

Edward hadn't told her about his experience, and she hadn't been bold enough to ask him past making sure Voldemort hadn't been the cause of his change. 

"You're family now, Miss Hale," Alice said with a mischievous smile, before she told her not of her life as a human, of which she had no recollection, but of her first steps as a vampire, her thirst for blood, but more than that, her need to find the vampire in her visions. 

"Jasper?" Hermione asked, entranced. 

Alice nodded her head, her amber eyes twinkling the way Crooks used to when he had caused some mischief. 

As the tale of how she found her beloved vampire and scared the bejesus out of him continued, Hermione wondered about the existence of soulmates. She had always wondered, what with everything she had discovered in the wizarding world being real such as souls, soulbonds, prophecies and divination, how everything and everyone was entwined more intricately than mere happenstance would allow. Jasper and Alice had clearly been destined to one another. Was there a chance she would find a soulmate too one day, despite being in a world she hadn't been born into? Or had she always been meant to cross over into this world to find him? Or her? Soulmates could probably take different shapes after all… Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she only snapped out of it when Emmet tried piling a couple of books on top of her head. A quick flip of her wand had the carpet twist around his legs, making him tumble forward. That'll teach him to be so cheeky.


	8. Chapter 8

More drama was thrown at them when the cold settled over the mountains, covering the roads in ice sheets so large that Hermione was seriously considering wearing ice-skates anywhere she went. Emmett had given up giving her driving lessons in these conditions after she almost sent his jeep over a cliff. Even vampires only had so much patience and Hermione was trying to modify her bear transfiguration of rocks to make him a polar bear as an apology gift, but so far, all her bears had come out with fur like a spotted dalmatian. 

Her own little problems aside, most of the Cullen-Hale clan, bar Cedric and Carlisle who was working at the hospital, returned one day after school arguing about the Bella girl again. It took Esme raising her voice to get everyone to sit down and explain the problem slow enough for their mortal sister to follow. 

"Edward outed us, the selfish idiot," Rosalie snapped. 

That surprised both Esme and Hermione. 

"Did he bite her?" they asked simultaneously. 

"She was going to be squashed by a car slipping on the ice," Emmett said with a pointed look at Hermione who blushed, still embarrassed by almost totalling his beloved jeep. "Edward couldn't leave well enough alone and had to save her." He rolled his eyes. "Super speed, super strength, miraculously unscathed by the car wreck… You name it, he did it, and right in front of the Swan girl too."

"She'll keep his secret," Alice said, her eyes slightly unfocused. 

"For now," Rosalie muttered. 

"For now is all we need until Edward and Carlisle return. We'll decide what's best then," Esme said, putting an end to the squabble. 

Rosalie stormed off into the garage, followed by Emmet. 

"She wasn't hurt, was she? This Bella girl?" Hermione asked since no one had seemed overly concerned about the mortal's fate. "Should I go to the hospital?" 

"No, it was just a few scrapes. Hardly any blood at all," Alice assured her. "And I really don't think she will tell anyone what she saw, so no need for your memory erasing magic."

Hermione blushed. She had thought about using a simple obliviate to help out. Nothing like the complicated memory spell she had cast on her parents, nothing that could damage the girl's mind in any way, but she still felt guilty about being called out on it. 

"That is some very practical magic for our kind however," Jasper said more to himself than anyone in particular. "You'd better keep that to yourself lest some unsavoury people decide they want such a skill for themselves."

"Are there vampires who can steal talents?" Hermione asked aghast at the thought of a vampire stealing her magic. 

"No, but they could  _ make _ you one of them," Jasper said. 

"Well, I'd still be one of  _ you _ ," Hermione sniffed. "I wouldn't belong to whoever turns me." She paused as if only considering it for the first time. She always thought she'd end up as food if she crossed paths with an unknown vampire, not as a vampire herself. "I'm not going to, right ?" she asked Alice. 

Alice looked away. 

"Alice!" 

"There are too many futures and I can't see all of them."

"But you've seen me turned?" 

"It's only in a small fraction of the possibilities."

"Well, fuck me sideways!" Hermione exclaimed aghast, having never imagined being anything but a mortal. 

"Hermione," Esme chided from the kitchen while Emmett could be heard snickering from the garage. 

Hermione rolled her eyes. As if in all their centuries they had never heard much fouler language than that. 

 

The family gathered a couple of hours later when Edward and Carlisle returned together from the hospital. Edward was adamant Bella would keep their secret, having made her promise, but explained he had also loudly proclaimed the girl had hit her head rather hard so they could dismiss her accusations as the divagations of someone with a brain injury if she decided to break her word. 

However, this wasn't their first brush with being discovered for what they really were, and everyone knew their role to prevent it. Edward would read the minds of the people around her, Alice was tasked with monitoring the future, while the others would keep their ears open for any rumours concerning their family. Hermione felt quite useless during this crisis, but she did tell Carlisle about the obliviate spell in case it was needed. If someone had doubts, they wouldn't necessarily need to run and that made her feel a lot better. 

The first few days were tense however, especially after Alice confided some her visions of the future had become murky around Bella, and that Edward not only could not hear her thoughts at all but he had discovered he could barely hear her father's and given he was chief of the local police, that was more than a little worrying. 

"You go spy on him," Alice said and Esme immediately agreed. 

"Why me?" she asked in horror. "I'm a terrible spy! Just ask Edward what happened when I tried to spy on the Slytherins as a second year." 

"Why? What happened?" Emmet asked with his usual eagerness to make fun of someone. 

"I didn't think those rumours were true," Edward replied before turning to Emmett with a barely hidden smirk. "She turned herself into a cat."

Emmett's shoulders sagged. 

"That's not so bad." 

"A humanoid, five foot tall, bipedal, talking cat," Edward explained. 

"You mean… a furry." Emmett looked at her then burst out laughing. "You turned yourself into a literal furry?" 

"Yes, well, don't go making it weird. I was only twelve at the time." Hermione loved ruining Emmett's fun. "Still don't know why  _ I  _ would make a good candidate to spy on the chief of police. Like I said, I'm terrible at it."

"Just go in batting your eyelashes," Jasper said, then glanced at Alice. "That's still a thing, yes?" 

"Yes, dear," her mate reassured him as she patted his arm lovingly. 

No matter her arguments, all the Hales and Cullens thought it was a great, or at the very least hilarious, idea, and Hermione was now on her way to the police station with a bogus excuse to report her wallet missing. That way she could share her connection to the Cullens and see if he reacted in an abnormal way. Then, if she had the slightest doubt, she could use her legilimency to make sure, fix it, and they could all resume a "normal" life. 

She walked into town the next day since she wasn't about to take her chances with the still icy roads and her near-death experience driving Emmett's jeep. Of course, she hadn't counted on the other drivers inattention or lack of control over their own car while she was a pedestrian. She was in the middle of the crossing, doing her best not to slip and fall on her behind when she heard the screech of brakes. When she turned in that direction, an old black van was spinning out of control. She thought it would miss her and crash into the post office, but it hit a lamp post and went from spinning one way to sliding in the opposite direction, right at her. She stared wide eyes at the whole scene as if seeing it in slow motion. Her first reflex was to run out of the way, but her boots were too slippery, then people began screaming, pulling her out of her trance-like terror, just in time to cast a barrier between her and the van to cushion the blow. 

She was projected several feet away and she could have sworn she was flying until she  hit the cold, hard road again. As she lost consciousness, she rationalised that there had been no time to cast anything else really, and at least, she wasn't dead. 

 

Someone was yelling and they were pretty pissed at someone named Tyler. Whoever he was, it sounded like he was having a very bad week. 

"Don't move," the same gruff voice ordered when Hermione blinked back to awareness. 

She couldn't have been out for too long because she was still on that damn icy road. She was starting to hate Forks and seriously considering moving in with her double in Florida. 

"Cold," she argued, feeling goosebumps crawl all over her body. "I'm fine." 

Her barrier had acted like an airbag and protected her from most of the impact with the van. She hadn't been prepared for the countershock that propelled her into the air however, which, in hindsight, had been stupid of her.

"Fine?" the man asked incredulously. "You just got hit by a van ma'am. But I can help with the cold, if you promise not to move." 

He unzipped his jacket and as her eyes became more focused on the world around her, she realized he was a police officer, and not only that, but the name tag on the jacket now lying over her informed her he was the man she had been looking for. A snort of laughter escaped her at the irony, which seemed to worry Mr Swan even more. Or was it Officer Swan? Chief Swan? Her head felt a bit whoozy too. Maybe he was right and it was best not to move. Had she hit her head? She couldn't remember and was struggling not to fall asleep. 

"Keep your eyes open," Chief Swan ordered. "What's your name?" 

"Hermione. Hermione… Hale." 

She gave herself a mental pat on the back for not giving Granger as her name out of sheer habit, then remembered to check Mr Swan's reaction to the name. Which was none whatsoever. Which was… good. Yeah, that was good. Even if she was now starting to worry if maybe she had hit her head hard enough to make herself the stupidest witch of her age, because she shouldn't be struggling so much to string two such simple thoughts together. 

"I don't feel so good," she added and the man reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Just stay with me until the ambulance gets here and they'll sort you out, alright?" 

She nodded, wincing when the movement finally revealed she did indeed have a tender spot on the back of her head. 

"You're not from around here. Were you visiting our lovely town. I swear it's usually more welcoming." 

"Visiting with some family," she replied, and now was her chance to make sure his daughter hadn't told him anything she shouldn't have. "Jasper and Rosalie. They live with the Cullens. Do you know them?"

"Yes, of course." And was that a genuine smile? It was handsome too, and made his moustache twitch in the cutest way. Or was that just the probable concussion speaking? In any case, mission accomplished. Mr Swan hadn't a clue. "Dr Cullen is a very good doctor. We're very lucky to have him work here in such a small hospital when he probably has better offers from more prestigious cities."

"Carlisle doesn't like the city life all that much," Hermione said as she stifled a chuckle. What could he possibly hunt in a city? Stray cats and dogs? Rats? 

"Well, we've got trees enough around here for sure," Chief Swan replied before his attention was caught by the flashing blue and red lights. "Your ride is here. Would you like me to inform your relatives?" 

"No, thank you. I'm sure Carlisle will tell them soon enough. I don't want them to worry over nothing." 

Chief Swan frowned but nodded in acceptance and wished her good recovery before stepping aside for the EMTs to do their job. Hermione couldn't bear to think of when the whole vampire family would swarm down on her with all their pampering. The sprain had been bad enough, and that was just from a tumble in the woods. A car accident was going to be a hundred times worse! She would be suffocated by love and kindness. Hermione smiled at the thought though, because she was damn lucky to have them as a surrogate family so far away from her home. 


End file.
